Kriyo87
Aquarium Advice Newbie
I just stocked my 29gal freshwater aquarium with 3 male fancy tail guppies, 2 female Dalmatian mollies and 1 male Dalmatian Molly. The tank cycled for over a month, fish-less of course, and my water parameters are as follows:
pH: 8.4 (high, I know but these were bought locally and raised in this range)
Ammonia: <0.225ppm
Nitrite: <0.25ppm
Nitrate: 0.00ppm
Temp: 72°F
I acclimated them for about an hour. All were fine. Kept them for a couple hours in low light and then gave a bit of flake before bed. Feeding was normal, no signs of aggression.
Then, I woke up this morning to find my three guppies hiding in the top corner of the tank while the Mollies took turns "herding them". It's the strangest thing. They are territorial! The 1 male Dalmation Molly is also flaring quite a bit and harassing his two female counterparts I have in there.
The females don't seem to be nipping or showing aggression to the male guppies, they just seem to be chasing them into a corner.
So, my question is will some tank mates help? Not right away of course, I don't want to overload too quickly, but I also don't want my guppies to get stressed out. Do a get a few more female mollies after a week or so? Maybe a school of tetras? Platties? Maybe add some more guppies...strength in numbers, right? Maybe not.
Also, I will be checking twice daily for ammonia. I expect a small spike over the next few days. I am using API's master test kit and I also grabbed some handy Tetra 6 in 1 strips.
If anyone has any insight into this Molly aggression, that would be awesome. I should also say that I don't have many places for them to hide, so I will add some driftwood or something and start replacing my fake plants with live ones.
Maybe that will keep them busy.
Thanks guys!
pH: 8.4 (high, I know but these were bought locally and raised in this range)
Ammonia: <0.225ppm
Nitrite: <0.25ppm
Nitrate: 0.00ppm
Temp: 72°F
I acclimated them for about an hour. All were fine. Kept them for a couple hours in low light and then gave a bit of flake before bed. Feeding was normal, no signs of aggression.
Then, I woke up this morning to find my three guppies hiding in the top corner of the tank while the Mollies took turns "herding them". It's the strangest thing. They are territorial! The 1 male Dalmation Molly is also flaring quite a bit and harassing his two female counterparts I have in there.
The females don't seem to be nipping or showing aggression to the male guppies, they just seem to be chasing them into a corner.
So, my question is will some tank mates help? Not right away of course, I don't want to overload too quickly, but I also don't want my guppies to get stressed out. Do a get a few more female mollies after a week or so? Maybe a school of tetras? Platties? Maybe add some more guppies...strength in numbers, right? Maybe not.
Also, I will be checking twice daily for ammonia. I expect a small spike over the next few days. I am using API's master test kit and I also grabbed some handy Tetra 6 in 1 strips.
If anyone has any insight into this Molly aggression, that would be awesome. I should also say that I don't have many places for them to hide, so I will add some driftwood or something and start replacing my fake plants with live ones.
Maybe that will keep them busy.
Thanks guys!